Activists of ruling Awami League, its associate bodies and like-minded organisations will take measures in the capital from early tomorrow to thwart any chaos by the main opposition BNP in the name of grand rally.

On this day in 1971, Awami League general secretary Tajuddin Ahmed thanked the people of Bangladesh for rallying behind the party in making a success of the civil disobedience movement launched by Bangabandhu earlier in the month. By now it had become clear that all sections of Bangalees and all professional groups in the province had linked up in a mass movement for democracy to be established on the basis of the Six-Point programme.

Idhan Mia has been operating a trawler carrying construction materials from Sunamganj to Dhaka for the last five years. But now he gets scared each time he is hired to navigate a vessel on this river route because of wholesale extortion allegedly by police and local goons.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Prince Abdul Aziz has called on the Bangladesh government for a prompt investigation into the murder of its official Khalaf Al-Ali to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Editorial

The unprecedented security measures the government has taken ahead of the planned BNP's 'Dhaka Cholo' (Let's March to Dhaka) programme for March 12 has left citizens mystified and worried. On the one hand, there is the big question of whether such stringent measures are at all needed when a party simply wishes to exercise its democratic right in a furtherance of its politics. On the other, the way in which conditions are being handled makes it clear that the nation's capital has been placed in a state of siege by the government. All the signs point to a state of panic on the part of the administration in the sense that it thinks the political opposition could really be up to some mischief.

We heartily welcome the final draft of the country's first-ever Education Act that seeks to implement the guidelines provided in the National Education Policy-2010. The draft attempts to bring all private schools, colleges and universities under a regulatory framework.

Sports

Regardless of all the controversies and the high-profile arrivals, the focus has returned to the field and a largely dry win column, as Bangladesh have the Asia Cup opener today against an opponent they haven't conquered in almost thirteen years.

When Tamim Iqbal walks out to bat at the centre of the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today, he will be a marked man by a lot of people, many of whom are not going to be Pakistanis. The screeching sound of many a sharpening knife will buzz in his ears but it will be his prerogative what he wants to hear; or even drown out the noise, depending on the state of his mind.

Once it was a dream for the cricketers in the country to play the Asia Cup but obviously those days are well and truly gone. In those days, the country's cricketers hardly got the opportunity of getting international exposure and this tournament was the only platform for them to show what they've got.

The biggest news surrounding the Indian team was the retirement of legendary batsman Rahul Dravid even as the team touched down in Dhaka for the Asia Cup yesterday. The defending Asia Cup champions and also world champions have not had the best of times recently, losing 4-0 in the Test series in Australia earlier this year, while failing to reach the just-concluded CB Series final, a tournament that also involved Australia and Sri Lanka, who will be India's first Asia Cup opponents on March 13.

The Sri Lankan team have come to play the Asia Cup on a bit of a high. Although they lost the best-of-three CB Series finals to Australia on Thursday, it was a narrow defeat and their journey to the finals of a tough tournament is part of an upward swing in performance after having a bit of a difficult time following the 2011 World Cup, in which they were runners-up.

Plan Bangladesh, a non-government organisation working for children's rights, will sponsor women's school football for the next three years. The NGO signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) in this regard at the BFF House yesterday.

Former Bangladesh League side Chittagong Abahani went down to a 1-2 defeat against 10-men Agrani Bank in their Premier Bank Bangladesh Championship League match at the Birshreshtha Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur yesterday.

The country's ambassador to the United States urged the US Congress to allow Bangladesh a zero tariff market access in apparels trade as has been given to the African least developed countries under the African Growth and Opportunities Act.

It is not just finding a balance between work and home; women need to get better working environment, recognition and positive attitude from their male counterparts at office to reach the top positions in the corporate world, speakers said at an event yesterday.

When the banking industry is grappling with high cost of funds and going with higher lending rates, a top banker said the soaring costs of borrowing will threaten the entrepreneurs and the overall economy in the days to come.

They used to raise premium beef cattle in Iitate. But a year after Japan's nuclear disaster it is an irradiated ghost town and those who used to call it home have no idea when they will be able to return.

The end of cheap China is at hand. Blue-collar labour costs in Guangdong and other coastal hubs have been rising at double-digit rates for a decade. Workers in the hinterland, too, are demanding -- and receiving -- huge pay increases. China is no longer a place where manufacturers can go to find ultra-cheap hands. Other countries, such as Vietnam, are much cheaper. What will this mean for China and the world?

Metropolitan

Wasfia Nazreen, the first Bangladeshi attempting to climb the seven highest mountains of the world's seven continents, will leave the country today to conquer Mount Everest, the highest peak of the world.

Four organisations of Save the Children working in Bangladesh formally merged into “ONE Save the Children in Bangladesh” yesterday to work in a more organised way for the betterment of Bangladeshi children.

Despite continuing success in healthcare, a lack of specialist doctors, particularly in districts and rural hospitals, stands out as a paradox in the present government's performance list, a seminar was told yesterday.

The programme to support poor and jobless fishermen during the seven-month yearly ban on catching jatka seems too inadequate as 65 percent of 2.10 lakh fishermen in coastal districts Patuakhali, Barguna and Bhola are outside its coverage.

Hundreds people of Bamondanga in Sundarganj upazila staged a protest on Friday night against load shedding. Organised by local motor owners association and Bamondanga Nagorik Committee, the protesters paraded the main roads of the area chanting slogans and demanding uninterrupted power supply. Later they held a rally at Bamondanga Club premises. The speakers said that the irrigation pump have become inoperative due to frequent power failure affecting boro crop farming in the area. They demanded necessary steps to resolve crisis with immediate effect. Otherwise a greater movement will be launched, they warned.

Locals caught and beat up three alleged stalkers when they were harassing young women on Chatmohar-Bhangura road in Bhangura upazila on Friday. Later police arrested Md Faysal Islam, 18, of Afratapara village, Mamun, 17, of Baluchar village, Sujon, 19, of Kazipara village in Chatmohar upazila from the spot. When a few girls were coming from Chatmohar upazila by a three-wheeler the accused stalkers chased them by a motorbike, police said. The boys forcibly took their photographs at Bhangura. As the driver of the vehicle protested, they beat him up. At this, the girls cried for help. Locals caught the three and beat them up.

Police arrested top leader of an outlawed party from Kuchiamora village in Sadar upazila yesterday morning. The arrestee, Md Shahidullah of village Kuchiamora, is a regional leader of outlawed PBCP Red Flag faction, also accused in many cases including for murders, police said. Officer in-charge of Ataikula police station Md Robiul Hassan said, acting on a tip-off, an team of police arrested him from Kuchiamora Bazar area at about 9am yesterday.

At least 10 business establishments in Mohipur Bazar under Kalapata town were gutted in a fire early Friday. Locals and police said, the fire originated at a confectionary owned by Billal Mia of Mohipur Bazar at about 1.45am and spread to other shops. The damaged shops include two confectionaries owned by Fazor Musulli and Billal Hossain, a stationary shop owned by Abdus Sattar, a hardware shop owned by Monir Pada, a cloth shop owned by Kabir Hossain and two shoe houses owned by Shipon.

A Swechchhasebak League leader was injured as his rivals stabbed him over intra-party conflict at Satmatha here on Friday. The victim is Anwar Hossain Rana, 24, member of convening committee of Swechchhasebak League. Party sources said rivals stabbed Rana indiscriminately at about 11:30am during a human chain formed by Awami League-led 14 parties in the area. He was admitted to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College and Hospital. District AL president Mamtaz Uddin, general secretary Majibar Rahman Majnu and MP Khadija Khatun, joined the human chain.

A half-day hartal and a daylong road blockade programme enforced by business associations in the hilly district yesterday protesting setting afire of a rice-laden truck ended peacefully. The programme was called after the members of United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) allegedly torched the truck on Friday night. Trucker Uttam Dev said six to seven UPDF men set his truck on fire in Shibmondir area of Sadar upazila at around 8:30pm when he refused to pay toll. Mostafizur Rahman, officer in-charge of Khagrachhari Sadar police station, said they have been trying to arrest the criminals. Meanwhile, Riko Chakma, information and publicity secretary of UPDF Khagrachhari district unit, refuted the allegation.

A year ago, it was hard to know what to expect. The three disasters that blindsided Japan on March 11, 2011a 9.0 earthquake, a massive tsunami and a triple nuclear meltdowncreated an unprecedented crisis for which there was no rulebook. After the water receded that Friday afternoon, leaving as many as 20,000 dead and tens of thousands of homes and businesses in ruins, a terrible stillness settled over Japan's northeast coast.

Arts & Entertainment

Theatre troupe Dhaka Padatik held a two-day programme on March 9 and 10 at the National Theatre Hall, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy to celebrate its 32nd anniversary. The troupe staged two of its recent plays on the days and arranged an award giving ceremony in honour of two of its deceased members.

It was a star-studded affair. Some of the most prominent stars of Bangladesh turned up at the Army Stadium in Dhaka on March 9, 2012. Well-known personalities in the fields of music, films, television, fashion etc. had all gathered to watch and listen to the South Asian music icon, Asha Bhosle.

A two-day long fair, in memory of poet Abu Zafar Obaidullah, kicked off last Thursday at his native village Baherchar under Babuganj upazila of Barisal with a call to preserve the memory of this noted poet and undertake studies on his life and achievements.

A three-day street theatre festival began in Jessore at Raushan Ali Stage of the Town Hall premises on March 8. Organised by Bangladesh Udichi Shilpi Goshthi, Jessore district unit, and sponsor by Talukder Group, the festival concluded yesterday.

A week-long book fair and cultural festival kicked off in Bhangura upazila of Pabna last Tuesday to spark cultural awareness among the people of Chalanbil region. Bhangura Shocheton Shahitya-Shangshkritik Parishad, a leading cultural organisation of the upazila has arranged the fair at Bhangura Union High School premises.

OP-ED

Diplo-macy in India can be traced to the times when the great epics, Ramayana and the Mahabharata were written. The Bhagavat Gita, which is also a sacred book of the Hindus, is a fine tutorial on diplomacy. The text here is a battlefield dialogue between Arjun the warrior and Krishna, the Vishnu incarnate, who was the chariot driver.

With his time served on the trail in 2008 and the money he had going into 2012 and his momentum coming out of Florida, Mitt Romney was supposed to be turning much of his attention to the fall by now, not looking over his shoulder and sweating Ohio. But this presidential race has been all about upended expectations. At the mile marker of Super Tuesday, it's worth pausing to look at how frequently we've erred and how much we've learned.

Remember the theory about "Survival of the Fittest?" It is alive and, in fact, thriving in the streets of Dhaka where, every day, one witnesses SUVs with reinforced fenders bulldozing their way in the midst of the traffic gridlock. Smaller vehicles, motorbikes, and rickshaws also jostle for space in a constant battle to get ahead. However, it's the mightiest that win this tug of war of hooting horns, prodding buses, flaring tempers and, sometimes, violent fist fights!

The massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March11, 2011, causing release of radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, represent one of the greatest disasters to strike Japan in recent memory. The earthquake triggered powerful tsunami waves which reached heights of up to 40.5 metres in Miyako of Iwate prefecture in Tohoku region, which in Sendai area traveled up to 10 km. inland.